Will the Patriots have moved beyond Mercury's "neigborhood" if they win the SB?

[JoeSixPat]

We know Mercury Morris maintains that should the Patriots go 19-0 they are simply joining his 17-0 Miami Dolphins as the best NFL team of all time.

Likely there are some fans that feel the same way - that the fact that Miami was the first team in the Super Bowl era to have a perfect season we're "johnny come lately's.." simply replicating what the '72 Dolphins have already done.

Well, just for impartial science sake, let's see what the fans visiting this message board think (I'd suspect there's a few fans of other teams lurking here as well)

If the Patriots win the Super Bowl will they have replicated what the '72 Dolphins did? Or will they have surpassed it?

Will the Patriots have moved beyond Mercury Morris' "neighborhood"? (And will he don his tux?)

 

[patsfaninpa]

We know Mercury Morris maintains that should the Patriots go 19-0 they are simply joining his 17-0 Miami Dolphins as the best NFL team of all time.

Likely there are some fans that feel the same way - that the fact that Miami was the first team in the Super Bowl era to have a perfect season we're "johnny come lately's.." simply replicating what the '72 Dolphins have already done.

Well, just for impartial science sake, let's see what the fans visiting this message board think (I'd suspect there's a few fans of other teams lurking here as well)

If the Patriots win the Super Bowl will they have replicated what the '72 Dolphins did? Or will they have surpassed it?

Will the Patriots have moved beyond Mercury Morris' "neighborhood"? (And will he don his tux?)

Mercury can move into the guest house. Isn't 19-0 > 17-0!!

 

[PatsfanGlo]

Its really a simple math....19 > 17....

 

[oldskool138]

Its really a simple math....19 > 17....

Even simpler math 18 > 17

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

We know Mercury Morris maintains that should the Patriots go 19-0 they are simply joining his 17-0 Miami Dolphins as the best NFL team of all time.

Likely there are some fans that feel the same way - that the fact that Miami was the first team in the Super Bowl era to have a perfect season we're "johnny come lately's.." simply replicating what the '72 Dolphins have already done.

Well, just for impartial science sake, let's see what the fans visiting this message board think (I'd suspect there's a few fans of other teams lurking here as well)

If the Patriots win the Super Bowl will they have replicated what the '72 Dolphins did? Or will they have surpassed it?

Will the Patriots have moved beyond Mercury Morris' "neighborhood"? (And will he don his tux?)

I don't have enough respect for M. Morris to take any of his opinions seriously. He seems to me to be someone who just wants attention, so he'll say whatever he needs to get back on ESPN. It doesn't matter at all what M. Morris, or any of the '72 Dolphins for that matter, think of the accomplishments of the 2007 Patriots.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Even simpler math 18 > 17

I think one can legitimately make a case for that... but a Championship is a championship... and 18-1 isn't a perfect season.

I think it just shows how much more difficult it is to win an extra two games and just how much further beyond Mr. Morris' Neighborhood we'll have moved.

 

[scout]

When people talk about the greatest team and the undefeated season, they will always bring up the Patriots. After discussing how great that Patriot team was they will then mention the Dolphins went undefeated back when it was a shorter season, kind of like a side note.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

When people talk about the greatest team and the undefeated season, they will always bring up the Patriots. After discussing how great that Patriot team was they will then mention the Dolphins went undefeated back when it was a shorter season, kind of like a side note.

Yep. And you know they'll all get on TV to embarass themselves trying to spin it after the super bowl.

LOLOL

PFnV

 

[apricissimus]

I'd vote for both if I could (so I voted for neither). Obviously winning 19 games is better than winning 17 games as many have pointed out, and the Patriots will have had a tougher road getting there, so in that sense the Patriots had a better season.

But at the same time, I don't think it's fair to penalize the '72 Dolphins because the never even had the chance to play 19 games. If the Pats win the Super Bowl, both teams will have had perfect seasons, and you can't fault the Dolphins for not winning more than 17 games. They did all they could.

 

[AStack75]

We'll make Mercury move out of our neighborhood. He's bringing down the property values with the crap music that comes from his house.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I think this is the wrong discussion to be having. It makes us just like the small-minded 72 Dolphins and their idiot supporters. Both accomplishments are great. We shouldn't be debating which is greater. Let history do that.

And, if another team threatens the record one, ten, twenty or thirty years from now, our attitude should be "Good Luck and welcome to the top of the mountain if you make it," not the drivel that came out of Miami this year. It diminished the accomplishment of that team and made the players and especially their coach look small.

 

[oldskool138]

And, if another team threatens the record one, ten, twenty or thirty years from now, our attitude should be "Good Luck and welcome to the top of the mountain if you make it," not the drivel that came out of Miami this year. It diminished the accomplishment of that team and made the players and especially their coach look small.

True. I can't see Tom Brady or BB or say Kevin Faulk going on ESPN 20 years from now when someone's about to break their records and raising a stink over it.

 

[Metaphors]

I think this is the wrong discussion to be having. It makes us just like the small-minded 72 Dolphins and their idiot supporters. Both accomplishments are great. We shouldn't be debating which is greater. Let history do that.

Agreed. I especially enjoyed the ESPN segment about "Who would win if the 2007 Pats played xxxxx". The game is played at a completely different level than the 1970's or 60's or before. It would look like that Hasselbeck car insurance commercial with Seymour, Warren and Wilfork facing lineman that were the size of fullbacks.

The Pats don't want to live in the 1972 Dolphins' neighborhood. It smells of polygrip and cat pee. 3 SB wins in a decade gets you your own neighborhood. An undefeated season just lets you get a table without a reservation at the finer restaurants in town.

 

[RayClay]

Hard to move beyond Mercury's neighborhood.

He keeps moving that refrigerator box to a different spot.:bricks:

 

[pats-4-life]

There will be a new owner of the neighborhood.

 

[patchick]

It's not about moving into a better neighborhood. It's about building a house next door...a bigger house.

 

[hambone1818]

My thought: there's two different aspects to the argument. First, there's the 'on it's face' discussion: both teams did not lose a game in an entire NFL season and therefore are intertwined as the only undefeated teams in the history of the league.

Second, there's the 'greatest team' argument, which is a whole other story and can include some of the great Steelers, Packers, 49ers, Bears and Cowboys teams despite them never having gone undefeated. Because of their weak schedule and very average playoff run most people discount the Dolphins in this discussion, rather turning to the 1985 Bears, 1989 49ers, etc. In the Patriots case, if they win in two weeks you have to figure that they'd certainly be a part of this discussion.


(Just want to emphasize that I am NOT discounting the SB as a foregone conclusion, I think it'll be a very closely contested game. This is more of a 'what if' discussion here)

 

[patsox23]

I think this is such an absurd question, with such an obvious answer, that I can't believe it's even a poll. And I REALLY can't believe ANYONE would vote "No" outside of a few trolls and/or phin fans.

I mean, come on. Seriously.

 

[rainmaker]

Yes, Mercury would still be in the neighborhood. Except now the mansion Brady just built casts a huge shadow over Mercury's run-down trailer. He will always be the guy who brings down the property values but if you plant enough large trees and build a fence around Mercury, you can hardly notice that he is still there.

 

[N.Eman]

What the '72 Dolphins is great but on their own day back then. The new age and this modern NFL, Free Agency, Salary Cap battles, etc.. the Pats 2007 accomplishment is way tougher and damn well deserved twice as much compared to 1972.

I just hope the Pats win to seal the deal.